Morgan Spurlock, filmmaker who documented dangers of McDonald’s-only diet, dies at 53
Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker whose Oscar-nominated “Super Size Me” chronicled a month of watching his body swell and his mood sink from eating only McDonald’s meals, died May 23 at 53.
The cause was cancer, Spurlock’s family announced.
“Super Size Me,” released in 2004, was a study in America’s fast-food culture and its role in the country’s economy and health problems, including obesity. He put on 25 pounds, had bouts of depression, felt his libido evaporate and was diagnosed with liver ailments during a 30-day stretch of McDonald’s-only fare.
The rules he set for himself in the documentary meant he had to accept a “super-size” option if asked while ordering. Spurlock also scaled back his normal exercise to match the average American’s physical activity.
Spurlock’s filmmaking style borrowed elements from the gonzo-style journalism popularized in the 1970s, using outsider-looking-in storytelling and quirky anecdotes. “We want to give you permission to laugh in the places where it’s really hard to laugh,” he said.
Spurlock directed dozens of documentaries and television episodes that dug into American subcultures and commerce, such as the comic book expo Comic-Con in “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope” and the marketing and advertising industry with “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” both released in 2011.
He also explored life behind bars by spending 23 days locked up with inmates at Virginia’s Henrico County Jail in 2006 as part of his FX network series “30 Days.” In 2008, he took on the U.S. response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the global hunt for the al-Qaeda leader in “Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?”
The film mixed animation, interviews and even songs as Spurlock traveled across the Muslim world in a faux-serious effort to beat U.S. intelligence and track down bin Laden on his own. The reviews were deeply split. Some critics praised his attempts to show the diversity and complexity of the region. Others dismissed the film as vapid and self-indulgent.
In December 2017, as the #MeToo movement widened, Spurlock posted a note on his blog saying he had a history of sexual misconduct, including acknowledging he was accused of sexual assault while in college. Spurlock, who wrote that he “built a career on finding the truth,” described himself as “part of the problem” and stepped down from the production company Warrior Poets, which he co-founded in 2004.
“For me, there was a moment of kind of realization - as somebody who is a truth-teller and somebody who has made it a point of trying to do what’s right - of recognizing that I could do better in my own life,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. “We should be able to admit we were wrong.”
The revelations effectively ended his career and put his last project in limbo. The documentary “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” was eventually released in 2019. In the film, Spurlock looked behind the menus at fast-food chains and other restaurants and often debunked their claims of serving healthier and more ethically sourced products.
Morgan Valentine Spurlock was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, on Nov. 7, 1970. Survivors include two sons, his parents and two brothers.